The Last Fairy
by NoNickNeeded
Summary: During the Grand Magic Games Lucy was arrested by the Fiore Forces under the command of Minister Datong. Shortly after Natsu, Mirajane and the three Exceeds sprung her out of prison, they got re-captured again. While pondering her misfortune Lucy blacked out. When she awoke again, everything in sight was in ruins. What happened and what is that sound? Is someone crying nearby?
1. Chapter 1 - Awaken to Despair

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail and all it's characters, creatures, magics and locations are owned by Hiro Mashima.

Hello and welcome to my first Fanfict. I hope you enjoy it.

The story in it's entirety is written solely from Lucy Heartfilia's perspective, with the italic text being her thoughts.

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**Chapter 1 - Awaken to Despair**

Lucy woke up with a terrible headache. The cell she was locked in was in ruins... Not just the cell, everything in sight was in ruins. It looked as if the entire section of the castle had collapsed.

_What happened? How did I get here? Why am I in a cell again, after Natsu, Mira and Happy just got me out of one?_ The blonde mage was confused.

_Oh right. After we beat those guys... those "Hungry Wolves" we ended up too close to that gate and got re-captured because we couldn't use our magic... this is so humiliating, being captured by normal soldiers, but why is everything in ruins? And how am I even able to see anything? Where does this light come from?_

The iron bars were bent far enough that she could slip through a gap between them. By a stroke of luck one of the small enchanted crystal spheres that were used to light the castle's lower levels had survived and provided Lucy with enough light to see at least her immediate surroundings. Hurting all over, she proceeded to check herself for injuries but was surprised to find nothing serious. Just bruises and scratches all over and a massive lump on the back of her head.

_I must have been hit by something and that's why I blacked out. It's a wonder I wasn't crushed!_

When she heard someone crying she carefully made her way through the rubble toward the sound. In the remains of another cell she found the source of the sound. It was Natsu.

_Natsu crying? What could possibly get him to cry?_

And then she saw the small body he was holding.

Wendy.

"Natsu! What's going on? Why are you crying? How is Wendy?"

He looked up at her with a mixture of surprise and despair on his face: "Lucy? Is that really you?"

Worried she rushed over to the pair, not even noticing her surroundings anymore... or the other occupant of what was once a prison cell. Since Natsu seemed too out of it, she decided to check Wendy herself. She looked terrible. Wounds and broken bones all over and she... she wasn't breathing!

Quickly Lucy's hand shot to Wendy's neck to check for her pulse.

There was none.

Wendy was dead!

In desperation she snatched the small body from Natsu, laid her down on the most even and clear place she could find nearby and started to administer first air. But it was too late. No matter what she tried, the small body remained lifeless.

Crying Lucy crawled back to the still weeping Natsu only to finally notice what was behind Natsu. Mirajane. Her body was buried under a big pile of rubble with only her chest and head being in the open. Her eyes wide open, but empty. A small stream of blood had run out of the pile, but was already dried up. Next to her an unmoving blue tail with a white tip stuck out of the rubble. She couldn't see any sign of Carla or Pantherlily.

After sitting there frozen for what felt like an eternity she felt arms reach around her. Natsu had finally started to move again and was hugging Lucy for dead life.

He was hugging her so hard that it was a little painful, but Lucy didn't complain. She slung her arms around the Dragon Slayer and they cried and grieved together.

"Lucy. I'm so glad that at least you survived. When the wall came down... Happy and Mira... they... it was over so fast... and then... Wendy..." he began to stutter, until words left him again.

She didn't know how long they were sitting like that, hugging each other, crying together, but eventually they stopped their long embrace.  
"Natsu, we need to get out of here. We can't carry them around without even knowing the way, but once we know we'll come back for them!"

After a long pause Natsu just nodded. They both knew that leaving their comrades' bodies behind for now was the right and the necessary thing to do, but they couldn't leave them like this. Together they dug Mirajane's and Happy's bodies out of the rubble and also found the corpses of Carla and 'Lily. They cleared a small area of all the debris and laid Happy, Wendy, Carla, Mirajane and 'Lily down next to each other, folding their hands over their chests. After saying a short prayer they started to make their way through the collapsed castle.

As they walked through partially collapsed passages strewn with rubble all over the place they occasionally heard growls off in the distance. Since Lucy's keys and whip were taken from her when they were recaptured the day before and both of them already being in a very battered state from the collapse even Natsu agreed that they should avoid whatever made those growls. But no matter how much they moved, the growls seemed to always stay at the same distance, as if they were being stalked by a predator.

Mercurius was labyrinthine to begin with and all the collapsed and blocked off corridors made matters even worse. It took them more than two hours until they managed to make their way up out of the dungeon level and another until they finally found a breach in the outer wall through which they could enter the gardens.

The first thing Lucy noticed what that rather than the green she expected, everything as far as the small light sphere could illuminate was black. Why was everything black? No, not everything. The hedges that used to make up a labyrinth for the people to enjoy were gone and most of the flower beds too, but here and there a few patches of green and the occasional tree had survived. When her eyes started to gaze further into the distance she froze.

Once this place must have given a spectacular and lovely view of the beautiful city. But the vista that now stretched before her was one to total devastation. The entire city was razed to the ground. Where once elegant houses and towers stood proud only rubble remained. Where once the buildings were adorned by flowers of every colour and shape now fires blazed providing the only illumination, since the moon and the stars were hidden. She couldn't tell whether it was natural clouds or the smoke from all the fires that caused this darkness.

"How could that happen? What could have done this?" the Celestial Spirit Mage exclaimed shocked.

Lucy jumped in surprise and fear when she heard a terrible roar above them. Her head jerked in the direction of the sound and again she froze.

Illuminated in ominous shades of red and orange from all the fires on the ground massive bellies, long claws, big leathery wings and long necks could be seen circling above the city ruins.

Dragons!

Not just a few or dozens or even hundreds, but too many to count. There had to be thousands of them up there!

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**Afterwords:** Which concludes chapter one. I hope I was able to entertain you. Please let me know how you liked it.

9th Nov: Edited in some minor grammar and spelling corrections.


	2. Chapter 2 - Hunter, Prey

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail and all contained characters, creatures, magics and locations are owned by Hiro Mashima.

I was planing to space the chapters out a bit more to make sure I have a sufficient buffer while writing the last few chapters, but since I made good progress and finished with chapter 6 today and because I'm in a really good mood due to the latest Fairy Tail Manga chapter being so awesome, I decided to publish chapter 2 today.

And the irony of publishing Lucy and Natsu going through such a sad experience because I'm happy isn't lost on me.

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**Chapter 2 - Hunter, Prey**

Lucy almost jumped out of her skin when Natsu softly poked her arm to get her attention. Startled she turned her head in his direction. She was about to open her mouth to complain about him scaring her half to death, but when she saw him holding up his index finger before his lips and noticed the look on his face, she remained quiet. That expression scared her. It was an expression she only ever saw Natsu make when looking for an enemy. Not just an opponent to brawl with, but a real enemy. _You couldn't be thinking about attacking the Dragons?_ Lucy thought in a moment of panic, until she noticed he wasn't looking up in the sky. His eyes were tracking the shadows in the wall breach through which the two of them had come just a minute or two earlier.

And then Lucy finally noticed it too. While she was standing there awestruck and dumbfounded by the sight of the Dragons, the growls they kept hearing inside the castle all this time had become a lot louder. Their hunters were almost upon them.

Without saying a word Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand and dragged her away, in the direction of the destroyed city. After the initial surprise Lucy quickly stopped resisting his tugging and did her best to keep up with her comrade's pace. Neither wanted to let go of the other's hand. As they rushed through the charred remains of the palace gardens they came upon what used to be a waterspout fountain. Where once clear water elegantly cascaded down the multiple marble tiers, now the liquid remained still in the bottommost basin, stained black by ash. And where once the statue of a hooded mage adorned the fountain, now something else stood.

A being with a sharp, serrated beak covered in bright and smooth armour plates with scales around its neck and a long, scaled tail. It didn't have any eyes. From its mouth emitted the dreaded sound, but it wasn't the only source of the growling. Around the two Fairy Tail Mages four others of its kind had moved into the small circle of light provided by the light sphere. Some of them standing upright like a Human, while others were down on all fours. They were surrounded by those five monsters. With their growling becoming so loud in her ears, Lucy couldn't tell if there might be others still hiding in the shadows.

"I'll create an opening. You charge through and then keep running! I'll find you by your scent once I finished those monsters off." Natsu whispered quietly into her ear. Before Lucy had a chance to even reply his fists lit up with fire and he charged at the nearest monster.

Without her keys or whip and without any magic of her own she had no choice but to do as her friend had told her. Without being able to fight, she'd just become a burden to him if she remained. The moment Natsu had the monster down on the ground, she ran towards them. When she charged past the pair struggling on the ground, the monster's tail reached out toward her foot. While it failed to wrap completely around her leg, the contact was still enough to trip Lucy. She saw the ground rushing up into her face. Just in time she managed to catch herself, make a roll and come up on her feet again.

She made it out of the ambush. As Natsu had told her she ran, but those things were faster. Something hit her in the back and she came crashing down onto the ground again. She found herself looking up at the black sky. Before she had a chance to get up again something heavy landed right on her ribcage, driving the wind from her lungs and making it impossible for her to breathe. Looking up she saw one of the monsters towering over her, it's knee pressing down hard between her breasts.

She was already winded from the fright and the sprint and now she couldn't breathe. Blackness crept into the side of her vision. To Lucy it looked as if she saw the monster in slow motion at the end of a long and dark tunnel, as it opened its beak and a bright light started to build in its mouth. She tried to knock the things leg away to get some air, but it was too strong and well armoured for her weak blows to have any effect. Just when she had lost all hope and was sure that this was her end, something red flashed by her eyes and the monster vanished from her tunnelled vision, along with the pressure on her chest.

Sucking in a much-needed breath she looked over to her left side to see Natsu - covered in flames from head to toe - stand over the monster, a smoking hole punched through its torso. Before she could even think of saying anything to the Dragon Slayer, he was gone from her narrowed sight again.

As she lay there gasping for air and unable to get up, her vision slowly returned to normal. Trying to get her bearings she looked around and saw several of the monsters lying around the area. Some burned to a crisp, others with holes punched through them, one even missing its entire head.

Beams of white light and orange-red flames crisscrossed all over the place as Natsu fought the monsters. At first he seemed invincible, but as she looked closer Lucy could see numerous wounds all over his body. She heard Natsu give a short yelp of pain as another monster ripped three ragged slashes on his back before he retaliated with a kick that sent the monster sailing over Lucy's head and off into the darkness, leaving a trail of smoke behind.

After what felt like hours, but in reality was less than a minute, Lucy finally managed to get on her feet again. Woozily she stumbled around trying get some more distance between herself and the battle as Natsu had bidden her before he attacked. She wondered where the light sphere could have fallen. Since it was nowhere in sight one of the monster's corpses must have landed on it, hiding it and its small light.

Without the sphere the fight behind her was the only source of light in the area. She might have a hard time finding a way, but she knew she couldn't go around looking underneath each slain monster to find the sphere. She had to do as her comrade and saviour had bidden her and get away from here. Without her whip and keys she'd only be a burden for Natsu!

As she stumbled away from the fight, a stray bream of light came shooting over her head. Lucy ducked her head and froze. The light illuminated a monster right in front of her. The entire world seemed to stand still and the Celestial Spirit Mage could make out even the most minute details of the foe standing before her. Every contour of its armour plates, the overlapping scales around its neck, the darkened and still smoking spot on its stomach where Natsu had kicked it before and the vivid red on the claw that had gouged the deep scratches into the Dragon Slayer's back.

When the thing lunged at her, she desperately jumped to the side to avoid the charge. For a moment she felt a sharp sting in her right elbow and cried out in pain. Before she had a chance to wonder how bad the wound might be, the beast's tail whip around and shooting fast toward her midriff.

She felt a heavy blow to her side and was sent flying. After she hit the ground hard she tried to stop her rolling with both her hands, but for some reason it didn't quite work as expected. Whenever she thought that her right arm would make contact with the ground she felt nothing... but at that moment she just couldn't spare any attention for wondering about the extend of her injury.

Her back hit something and the rolling finally stopped. She was sprawled awkwardly on her side with something solid and cold digging into her back. She couldn't see anything. For a moment she feared that she might have hurt her eyes, until she saw a glow of a fire off in the distance.

_A glow... so my eyes still work. That means it's just too dark to see anything nearby. And that means that Natsu is no longer fighting. Is he still alive? Did he kill all those things? Natsu! If you're alive, please call out!_

She desperately tried to form words, as those thoughts ran through her head, but the only sounds that came from her mouth were shorts gasps.

But the battle wasn't over yet. Again light and flame were cast forth and a lone surviving tree close by caught on fire.

Lucy found herself thinking about how sad it was. The tree had survived this catastrophe, had to see all his friends burned down and just when it seemed as if it was finally over and it could live on, it too was set on fire.

As she wondered how she could possibly think about a tree while Natsu was out there fighting for both their lives and if she might have taken a blow to the head without noticing, her vision fell on a silhouette between her and the burning tree.

Even though it didn't have any eyes there was no doubt in Lucy's mind that it was looking straight at her. The monster's head shifted, but against the glare of the fire she couldn't tell what was happening... until a light started to illuminate the inside of the beast's beak. How often did she have to see this build up of light inside a monsters beak today?

_Not often... try as I might I can't move my body. And Natsu is too far away. This is the last time I have to see it. This is the end._

She thought she should feel pain from her wounds, but there was none. It was as if she was already disconnected from her body.

She thought she should feel fear, but there was none.

"Without hope there can be no fear!" She didn't remember where she heard or read that sentence. She had often thought about it, but could never figure out the meaning behind it, but now she understood. As long as they thought they might survive, people feared death. But once that hope for survival was lost, once death became an inescapable and imminent certainty, the fear just melts away to be replaced by grim acceptance.

So she waited for that dreaded light to finish it's build up and obliterate her from this world.

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**Afterwords:**

I hope I'm not disappointing people too much with the Dragons effectively being only a background image, but I'm trying to stick with Fairy Tails established canon as much as I possibly can and Lucy and Natsu would be hopelessly outclassed by even a single Dragon, much less thousands of them. So I chose another enemy for them to battle - the little Hatchlings that were spawned by the Dragon Motherglare in Fairy Tail Chapter 330. My reasoning behind this is that with the massive size the Dragons couldn't possibly hunt down survivors in the tunnels beneath the castle or the sewers and similar locations, so Motherglare or another Dragon with the same abilities spawned a few of those Hatchlings for the task and then moved on, confident in the abilities of those little monsters to deal with the stragglers.


	3. Chapter 3 - Tearful Promise

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail and all associated characters, creatures, magics and locations are owned by Hiro Mashima.

Even though I'm suffering quite the slowdown in the chapter I'm currently working on, I think releasing this chapter today won't threaten my "buffer".

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**Chapter 3 - Tearful Promise**

The build-up of the light slowed and stopped. Surely the beam must come at any moment now and put an end to her life...

Suddenly a shadow came flying out of the darkness toward the monster. It must be Natsu. Again he came to rescue her at the last moment.

As she watched, still unable to move, a bright beam of light blasted forward, missing her by just a hands width. She could feel some hot droplets hit her cheek.

It was hard to see against the light of the burning tree behind them, but the shadow seemed to grab a hold of the monster. They both lit up and encased in a cocoon of fire they rolled around. Then the struggling stopped, the flames around the pair died down and a figure rose to his feet.

Now no longer in a direct line between her and the burning tree Lucy could make out Natsus pink hair... and the blood on his arm... and the big hole in his side!

After taking a few more steps in her direction the Dragon Slayer collapsed onto his knees and then fell over to the side.

With a cry of alarm Lucy found strength in her body she hadn't known to be there a moment before. She still couldn't stand - couldn't even crawl - and she couldn't make her right arm work, but somehow she still managed to drag herself to Natsus fallen body.

_This can't be happening, this can't be happening, this can't be happening,..._ she repeated over and over in her mind. But it was happening.

Even though she was hoping, begging and praying that Natsu would survive, somewhere deep down she already knew he was beyond saving. Nobody could survive with a hole of that size punched through their body.

When she finally arrived at his location she saw Natsu looking up into her crying face... and begin to smile.

_He SMILES! How can he smile while he's lying there... dying!_

"Lucy. You are save. I'm so glad. I couldn't have lived knowing I was unable to protect you." he whispered.

_And how am I to live knowing you sacrificed yourself to save me?_

"Hush. Don't speak now. You need rest Natsu."

_Listen to yourself you dummy. He's dying. Why would he need rest now? Isn't it that you just can't bear hearing him speak so happily while his life is slipping away?_

"I appreciate the sweet lie, but we both know I won't make it."

"NO! You WILL make it. I'll make sure of it. I just need to find some bandages. You'll be up and brawling with Gray again and destroying things before you know it."

_What am I saying? Of course he's right. But I can't sit here and just watch him die. I have to try something. Anything!_

"Please Lucy! Don't leave me alone. Don't let my die all alone!"

Seeing him lying there in a pool of his own blood - blood that was spilled because he saved her - pleading for her like that... how could she deny him that. It was her fault he was dying and her responsibility to give him as much comfort as she could.

As Lucy tried to stroke Natsus cheek with her right hand she finally noticed. Beyond her elbow only a short stump remained. Her hand... the hand with her guild mark was no longer there. Now it made sense how she couldn't stop herself from rolling and how she had such a hard time dragging herself forward.

_How is it possible for me not to notice THAT? Why am I not upset about it and why isn't it bleeding? Is it the shock? It must be the shock! I can't let Natsu see this, not in his last moments._

She quickly hid her right arm behind her back and started stroking the dying man's cheek with her left hand. _Thank the spirits! He didn't notice._

"Natsu, there is something important I have to tell you. I think at some level I always knew it, but I just couldn't admit it, not even to myself. But after you came to check up on me before your fight with Sabertooth I could no longer deny it. I was too afraid to say anything, but I realized that from the first time we met, I fell hopelessly in love with you."

"I love you Natsu Dragneel!"

The smile that had faded away from his face when he pleaded for her to stay by his side was back. Radiant, happy, serene.

"Took you long enough to realize it dummy." A short laugh escaped her lips. How could he try to make her laugh in a situation like this? How could he succeeded to actually make laugh?

Chuckling he added "But who am I to talk when I'm in the same boat. I was too dense to realize it either, but I too loved you since I first I laid eyes on you Lucy Heartfilia."

_Why could we only realize it now that it's too late. How can fate be so cruel?_

Lucy leaned down to Natsu and softly pressed her lips to his. For a moment everything else melted away. Nothing existed but the kiss and Lucy felt as if she could die of joy, but as they parted, reality slammed back into her, bringing forth a new flow of tears. Natsu was still dying and nothing could change that. She felt guilty for feeling so joyful, even if only for a moment.

"Lucy. I... I will be waiting for you... on the other side, but please promise me... Don't follow me too soon. Live! You have to survive for my sake too."

Unable to form any words the heartbroken woman just nodded before bending down and kissing her dying love again. At first he kissed her back, but then he just lay there, unmoving. Lucy continued the kiss as his breathing gradually grew weaker until it finally stopped, his last breath flowing into her.

For a while she thought that with that last breath, surely his soul had also flowed inside her too. That he'd always be with her now. That she didn't have to be alone. But it couldn't last.

Natsu was gone. No amount of wishing could ever bring him back.

In her desperation she was sure that nobody in the city could have survived that inferno. Her guild, her new family was surely dead. Her mother and father were dead. And now the love of her life too was lying dead before her eyes. She was all alone.

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**Afterwords:** And so we arrive at the point where the title of the story finally makes sense. The last surviving member of Fairy Tail - The Last Fairy.

I feel that I might have gone a bit overboard with the love confessions there, but I just couldn't bear to let Natsu die without getting the feelings I think he has even in the series out, before the end. And giving Lucy a tiny ray of light in all this darkness is surely a good thing too, right? And it also gives her promise the necessary weight to sustain her, when otherwise she might not have been able to work up the will to live.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Last Fairy

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail and all associated characters, creatures, magics and locations are owned by Hiro Mashima.

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**Chapter 4 - The Last Fairy**

She longed for death.

Everyone she ever cared for was gone. There couldn't have been any survivors to all this. She was sure she was the only living Human in the entire city. Though for her it felt as if she might as well have been the only living being on the entire planet.

She longed for the bittersweet embrace of death. It would be her salvation from this terrible pain.

But she couldn't deny Natsu his last with... his dying wish. She couldn't render his sacrifice futile. She had to survive. No matter how much it hurt, she just had to continue living!

As she sat there, suffering from the pain in her heart, she also started to feel the pain in her body. The adrenaline was receding and the shock was wearing off... and her right arm started to bleed.

Quickly she took off her belt and with the help of her teeth managed to tie it around the stump to stop the bleeding. Somewhere in the back of her mind she mused that the belt's only purpose had been to hold her whip and key-case anyway.

_And even if my skirt were to drop, it's not like there's anyone alive around here who could see it. No one... all alone..._

She didn't know where she could possibly get the strength to move on, or how she could manage to survive, but she vowed to herself that she would try her hardest to survive as long as she possibly could.

_I have to survive. I WILL survive! I will to survive for him. I will keep my promise!_

Lucy didn't know how long she had been sitting there, but when she looked up she saw the first gleam of dawn on the horizon. And the Dragons were gone.

As her gaze came down from the sky again, she looked at Natsus body again.

_He looks so peaceful and serene. At least one of us was able to die with a measure of happiness, even though I am doomed to live a life of eternal sadness. But worry not my love, I will survive. I will keep our promise!_

She laid her hand on his brow and shivered. His body was already cold. Natsus body cold. He used to always be so warm and now...

As she was threatened to once again be overwhelmed by her grief, she got to her feet. She was feeling dizzy, but was able to stand. Looking around she saw the many white bodies and was amazed at how Natsu was able to slay all of them on his own to save her.

After getting her bearings she bid Natsu a last farewell and moved away in a random direction.

"I can't stay in this destroyed city. But before I move, I have to find my keys and gather some supplies. Maybe there were some survivors who fled into the surrounding mountains who I can link up with. Surely together we have a better chance to survive." she started to say out loud in a cheery tone.

_Listen to me babbling to myself... And whom am I faking this cheerfulness for anyway? I'm all alone here._

Hoping to find some food and other necessities in the castles ruins, she changed her direction and moved back in the direction of the breach in the castle wall out of which she and Na... out of which she had come earlier. With the sun rising up in the sky there was enough light to navigate the roofless ruins without needing to find a light sphere.

As she wandered through the forlorn remnants of the once beautiful palace she felt a strange sensation... as if something was tugging at her very soul. This sensation... she remembered feeling it before but couldn't quite place it.

And then it hit home. ECLIPSE!

She felt the Eclipse Gate!

An idea started to form in her head.

_Didn't they build the gate to travel back in time? Could I go back and somehow prevent all of this from happening?_

After wandering through a labyrinth of confusing corridors and collapsed passages she managed to find a way to the courtyard in which the royal family had erected the massive gate. Before, when Arcadios and Yukino explained the Eclipse Project to her, it had been emitting a low hum and a strong magical aura. And it was closed.

Now it was quiet, Lucy could barely feel any magic from it and it was ajar.

The Celestial Spirit Mage carefully stepped through the great arch, but nothing happened. She was still in the same place. The same time. Nothing changed.

Did they mess up and the whole damn thing never worked? Was it damaged by the Dragons or by debris? Did they already establish a connection to Zerefs time as they had planed and it broke off after the gate ran out of stored magical energy?

As Lucy made her way toward the frame of the door it started to once again emit that low hum. When her fingers almost touched it, a glow started to form around them.

Quickly she pulled her arm back and the glow vanished again while the hum became quieter.

_What happened? Is it supposed to do that? If only there was someone I could ask... I don't have any other choice but to try. I know I promised Natsu to stay alive, but if I could stop all of this from ever happening..._

_It wouldn't be breaking my promise if I made sure the promise was never made in the first place, right?_

With no other way to get any answers Lucy felt she had no choice but to risk it. Once again she moved her fingers closer to the surface of the gate. As the glow appeared again and the hum rose in volume, she paid close attention to every detail. The glow was similar in colour as the glow that formed around her when she had trained with Capricorn, only it was hovering in place, rather than circling around her in a mini tornado. It felt like Celestial Spirit Magic, but with something sinister woven into it.

Being unable to glean anything else from this almost contact she reached out and touched the gate with her fingertips.

Tiny golden threads of light started to form at the point of contact and spread all over the portal. It felt as if all of her magic power was being sucked out of her body in a great rush. Almost as if her very soul was being sucked out along with it and for a moment she was terrified that she might really die here. No not terrified of death... after what she had to endure death' embrace itself no longer had any fear left for her, but she was terrified of being unable to keep her promise. How could she face Natsu in the afterlife after so carelessly throwing away the very life he died to preserve just a few hours ago?

A bright light started to build in the centre of the gateway. As the bright glow sucked her in she felt as if the world had tilted and she was falling sideways. All around her lights of every hue of the rainbow swirled, twisted together with strings of darkness so pure it seemed as if they would suck in the dancing sparks around them at any moment now.

She couldn't tell up from down or perceive the passage of time. At times she felt weightless while at other times gravity seemed intend to crush her from multiple directions at once. One moment it felt as if she was serenely floating along in a slow moving river and the next moment it felt as if she was speeding faster than any arrow just to feel completely still again soon after.

She had no idea how much time had passed, or if any time had passed at all, but at some point she found herself down on her knees and arm on a solid stone floor. Around her the castle walls rose towards a blue sky.

Walls rose toward a blue sky. Intact walls rising up all the way! Not half-crumbled ruins, stopping raggedly at two or three meters of height, but fully intact walls!

She made it!

She Lucy Heartfilia, probably the last surviving member of Fairy Tail had made it! She had travelled through time!

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**Afterwords:** As many Fairy Tail fans can probably guess after this chapter, the Lucy this story is all about is actually Future Lucy. I hope I was able to keep it well enough hidden and thus surprise at least a few of you ;).

And I did not forget about poor Future Levy, but Lucy had no way of knowing that her blue-haired friend had survived the Dragon attack, so I left her in the believe that the bookworm died along with the other guild members.

A few more reviews would be much appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5 - Through time, but to 'when?

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail and all associated characters, creatures, magics and locations are owned by Hiro Mashima.

First let me apologize to the people who follow my story if they got unnecessary alerts from me making changes to the past chapters. But when writing the later chapters I noticed a few things and had to go back to revise the old chapters (like forgetting about Carla and Pantherlily for example). Anyway here's the next chapter. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 5 - Through Time, but to 'when'?**

_But what time? The future? No. The walls were intact. There was no one left to rebuild the castle so it can't be the future._

_The past then. But how far in the past? Days, weeks, month' or years? Could I have been sent all the way into Zeref's time 400 years ago, as Arcadios originally planed? No. I can see the Eclipse Gate right there behind me. The castle might have existed back then, but it was only under Arcadios command that the Gate was constructed. He didn't look all that old, maybe in his early thirties? I can't imagine to have gone more than ten years into the past. Probably less, since the Daimatou Enbu hadn't started back when we went to Tenroujima. Surely they would have started the games sooner if the Gate was already completed._

Pondering about this predicament she tried to get up on her feet only to be hit by a sudden wave of vertigo making her drop back on her knees and gasping audibly.

"Who's there?" came a loud voice from somewhere on the other side of the gate.

_Oh no! Someone heard me! What should I do?  
_

Desperately looking around for a place to hide she spotted the elegantly trimmed bushes all around. As quickly and quietly as her battered state allowed, she slipped over to them and tried to conceal herself as best as she could.

The guard came around but thankfully he only looked to the gate, from where the sound had originated. When he didn't find anyone or anything he went back.

A few seconds after he disappeared behind the gate again Lucy heard him talking again: "I thought I heard some noise, maybe someone gasping, but there's nothing there. Must have been my imagination."

"Can't blame ya! Bloody thing gives me tha creeps too" another voice answered before they fell silent again.

Lucy remained hidden under the table for a while longer to recover for a bit and give her racing heart some time to slow down to a normal rhythm again. While she was crouched down there in her little corner she looked down on herself.

_My cloth are all ripped and bloody... blood... his blood... NO! Can't think that! Can't go there! _With effort she managed to wrest her mind away from the traumatic event and back to what needed doing.

_I have to get some other cloth or I'll stand out too much. And what if my past self is around in this time. Someone might recognize my face and mistake me for her. I need a hood too. And I need to take care of my arm. Can I risk going to a doctor? No. I'll have to do it myself until I know which time this is._

Wondering how she could possibly be so calm in this situation she slipped out of her hideout and made her way toward the far wall of the courtyard, in the opposite direction of the two guards' voices.

It surprised Lucy how few guards were patrolling the castle thinking that the royal family must have a lot of confidence in the guards around the palace to have so little security on the inside.

Even so she occasionally had to quickly duck into a side passage to avoid the passing soldiers. But when she heard the footsteps echoing down the corridor there was no side passage. She had no other choice than to try a door and hope no one was inside.

And she was lucky. The second door she tried was unlocked and the comfortable-looking living room behind it was empty. To Lucy's delight it turned out to be a woman's room. She didn't particularly like stealing cloth but she had little choice. Too many lives depended on it.

Lucy had just opened the closet when she heard the room's door open. With not time to spare to look for a better hiding place she lunged into the closet and quickly pulled it closed behind her.

"I can't believe I forgot it! Damn where did I put it!" she heard a familiar female voice outside the closet.

"Hurry it up Kamika, we're late already!"

_Kamika. The crazy paper-throwing woman of the Garou Knights. Fiore's executioners. I'm dead if she finds me here._

"Ah found it!" Kamika shouted to whoever was outside.

Lucy could hear the other person answering from the outside. "About time. Now we really have to hurry. We wouldn't want to make the minister wait now would we?" and then the door was closed.

_That was too close... but at least I don't need to worry about taking cloth from HER. She didn't kill because it was her job, but because she likes it. I bet she only took that job, because it allows her to kill without getting into troubles for it. I won't feel any remorse for stealing from that monster._

With those and similar thoughts running through her head, Lucy took off her ripped and bloody cloth and put on an outfit she found in the closet. Without worrying about how she would look, she just picked out the first things she got her hand on and ended up in a short light grey skirt with some frills at the hem, a simple shirt and leather sandals. After looking around for a bit she found a long, black, hooded cloak with white bands down the shoulders and back and a golden band around the neck, closed with a brooch set with a big red stone. It might not be the most inconspicuous outfit, but at least it would keep her face hidden. And it wasn't something that her past self would have worn, so it would minimize the chances of being recognized.

In another closet she found a well stocked supply of medicine and bandages.

_She might be a monster, but she's certainly well equipped to handle injuries. But with that kind of job that's hardly surprising. I'll be borrowing a few things to treat my lost... my... my wounds with. But not here and now._

Not daring to stay in the castle any longer than necessary she put her ripped and dirty cloth along with the acquired medicine and bandages into a bag moved toward the door. When she spotted an empty booklet and a pen on a table next to the door she picked them up too and stuffed them into the bag, just to be on the save side. After she had closed the door behind her she saw a pair of guards come in her direction.

Panicking Lucy started to look for some way to escape. She thought she was done for when the guards stopped in their tracks, clearing staring at her. To her surprise the soldiers quickly turned away and hurried down a side passage. It was almost as if they were afraid of her. Lucy could only stare in wonder.

As she once again started to move through the confusing corridors of Mercurius castle, she pondered why the patrol would be afraid of a lone woman. Could they be mistaking her for someone else?

_Well... I am wearing Kamika's cloak and my stature is similar enough for any differences be hidden by it. And considering the job and attitude of the Garou Knights, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the regular soldiers were actually afraid of them. This will make things a lot easier._

Fearing that those two might have only reacted the way they did, because they had once been directly involved with the Garou Knights and not wanting to overtax her luck, the disguised Fairy Tail Mage kept avoiding contact with further patrols as much as possible, but the closer she got to the outer regions of the palace, the more numerous the patrols seemed to be, until it become impossible for her to sneak around without being noticed. But as she found out her worries about the last patrol being a special case were unfounded. Upon getting close to them, some soldiers nervously saluted her, some just froze and hurried off in some other direction and some just pretended they didn't see her. None of them was willing to stop or even approach her. Lucy had to admit to herself that it had it's advantages to be mistaken for a bloodthirsty monster. Or at least a bloodthirsty monster sanctioned by the crown.

At long last she finally managed to leave the palace grounds and enter Crocus, the capital of flowers.

* * *

**Afterwords:** As I found out while writing a later chapter, Hiro Mashima was inconsistent with how he drew the surroundings of the Eclipse Gate. When it's shown in the Manga right before Lucy and Yukino were arrested for "treason" by Minister Datong in chapter 302, the courtyard was much smaller, closely surrounded by walls with columns in front, along with boards and tables and it's completely covered with bricks.

This was later (Chapter 325 and onwards) revised, probably because the "old" courtyard turned out to be too small for 'Guests' to come in.

Originally I had Lucy hiding under a table, behind a stone column, but when I noticed the courtyard revision, I decided to go with the later, more open version, since the newer one was shown in far more chapters than the old.

Unfortunately that meant that the only objects behind which Lucy could hide were the little decorative bushes.

As before I'd be happy to get a bit of feedback.


	6. Chapter 6 - Painful Memories

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail and all associated characters, creatures, magics and locations are owned by Hiro Mashima. Some of the things the characters say in this story are the direct translations of the Manga made by .

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Painful Memories**

For a moment Lucy's memories overlaid her vision with scenes of devastated landscapes, crumbled buildings and blazing fires. She fought them down and reality reasserted itself. Lucy cast her gaze upon the beautiful and elegant city, decorated with flowers as far as the eye could see.

_It is so peaceful, but for how much longer? I wish I knew what day it was._

As Lucy wondered about the date she heard an announcement from several of the lacrima vision devices that had been spread all over town: "Ladies and gentlemen! Only five more minutes until the second match of the day: Mermaid Heel versus Lamia Scale!"

_Mermaid Heel against Lamia Scale? When did that happen? I can't remember that match-up. It must have been while I was in the infirmary on... that day... or maybe not. I don't even know what year it is. For all I know this could be the previous Games or any of them really... How many were there anyway before we came back from Tenroujima?  
Either way I should go up to Domus Flau. The announcement said it was the second match, so there's going to be at least one more. Maybe I'll be able to work out the current date if I see that last fight._

_But first I have to dress my wounds, but where? The hedge labyrinth maybe? During the day the outer palace gardens are open to the pubic, but most people are either in the stadium or watching the match over the lacrima vision, so it should be clear. I can't waste time by looking for a better place, I'll just have to risk it._

As she expected, the gardens were empty of people. She went into a secluded corner of the labyrinth and saw to her wounds as best as she could. Treating yourself was never an easy task, but having only one hand made it a lot harder. While taking care of the stump that used to be her right hand, hopelessness threatened to overwhelm her. Again and again she would fight this depressing and dark feeling down, but every time it came back.

When she was finished with her arm she felt exhausted from the ordeal. She wanted nothing more than to keep lying here until her life faded away and she could be reunited with... _NO! I promised!_

Sitting around here would only make her mind wander back to all the pain and suffering. She had to do something to occupy her mind, so she tried to call up every detail she could remember of the Grand Magic Games while she set off toward Domus Flau. On the way she threw away the bag with her old, ripped and dirty cloth, putting what little was left of the medicine and bandages and the booklet and pen in the pockets of her cloth.

Absently she also noticed that unlike the soldiers within the palace, the policemen out in the city didn't seem to be intimidated by her, or rather the cloak she was wearing. They treated her just like any other citizen. Maybe the existence of the Garou Knights was kept confidential to avoid any public outcry about this rather questionable group. Or the people out here simply didn't recognize the outfit as one of Kamika's.

All the way toward her destination she could hear the cheering of the crowds and Chapati commenting the match with his two guests, though with her mind preoccupied with other matters she barely noticed. When she finally arrived at the stadium, the next match was already in full swing and judging from the loud cheering, it was a good one. Lucy tried to find a place to sit down, but all the seats were already taken. Since she didn't dare to talk to anyone due to fear of being recognized she reluctantly settled with standing behind the last row of seats, leaning her tired body against the wall.

Sighing in frustration she turned her attention to the arena, but she couldn't see any combatants. Where she though there'd be a flat floor covered in sand only a gaping hole could be seen. _This must be a really fierce battle if they managed to break the flood like that. _Just when she was about to look up at the lacrima vision screens to see what was going on down there, her eyes were drawn to the hold again as flashes of light could be seen.

Red-orange alternated with bright white light.

Her entire body began to shake as memories rose up like a spring flood and threatened to once again drown her in despair. It was just like... the dark night outside the castle... the ambush by the white monsters... the day Na...

Before the memories could take a hold of her again she quickly averted her eyes. To distract herself she started to look around the area again, this time not looking between the people for empty seats, but studying the people themselves.

And there they were off to her left. Master Makarov, Master Mavis, Levy, Gray, Laxus, Erza, Lisanna, Romeo and... When her eyes fell on Mirajane and Happy, she almost choked. Again Lucy had to avert her gaze as dark thoughts of hopelessness bubbled up from within her.

"Are both of them down!?" she heard the commentator shout. On the lacrima vision screen she could see two figures on the ground. Sting stood before them with an almost sad smile on his face, while Rogue watched from the remains of the broken upper floor, expressionless as always. All eyes were glued to the screens and nobody said a word.

"Hold on, will you?" _That voice!_

To everyone's surprise the two figures rose up on their feet again and Lucy could see their faces. Gajeel and... _him_...

_Natsu!_

While she stood paralyzed, fighting a losing battle against her own mind, the two Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers got into an argument. Natsu shoved Gajeel into a lorry and sent it down the tracks into the darkness, grinning and imitating the Iron Dragon Slayer's signature laugh "Geehee" before challenging Sabertooth' Twin Dragons with a few more words that didn't manage to penetrate through the turmoil in her head, the letters "Come ON" appearing in fire above the fingers of his extended left hand and a big grin on his face.

Tears started to stream down her face.

The name she had tried so hard to avoid in her thoughts. The face she tried so hard not to remember. The events she needed to keep buried. It all came flooding back in a painful rush that took her breath away.

She could bear it no longer and ran out of the stadium. The destination didn't matter as long as it was away from here. When she had made some distance from Domus Flau she slowed down. Dazed and barely able to form a coherent thought she just walked without aim or even noticing her surroundings.

_So it is THAT day. Naval Battle, the Dragon Graveyard... The fourth July. Just three more days until IT will happen... Is it already too late?_

"Stop." a muffled voice commanded behind her and she froze.

"I'll show you my true appearance" the now clear voice continued. "Show me your face as well." He sounded familiar, but in her distress she just couldn't remember.

Slowly she turned around to find herself face to face with Jellal, the mask he wore as part of his Mystogan disguise down around his neck.

"How...!" he exclaimed in surprise bordering on shock.

* * *

Afterwards Lucy couldn't remember much of their conversation, but somehow Jellal had managed to convince her to tell him everything. He listened as she told him about the collapsed castle, about the dying friends and about the Dragons, circling above the devastation as if admiring their handiwork. She told him about an attack, two confessions and a death. At this point she had broken down in tears. Jellal knelt down and embraced the fragile looking girl as she sobbed into his shoulder.

By the way he awkwardly held her, she could tell how uncomfortable he felt about embracing her. _Embarrassed about embracing a girl other than Erza maybe?_ At other times this thought probably would have made her giggle a little, but against the pain and sadness crushing down on her it was like an ant trying to lift a mountain. Nonetheless she held onto it, as if it was a lifeline and finally managed to drag herself back up out of the bottomless pit of despair.

Her tears still flooded into Jellal's shoulder as she held on to him, but the worst was past her. She felt a little guilty toward the Re-quip Mage for being so close to the man Erza loved, but she was just feeling so lonely that she couldn't help it. Being held, being allowed to cry into someone's shoulder, even if he was almost a stranger... it was such a great relieve from the terrible burden she was carrying.

At last she was able to drag herself away from Jellal and without saying another word left the blue haired mage awkwardly kneeling on the street, looking stunned.

After continuing to walk aimlessly through Crocus' streets some more, Lucy sat down on a bench and tried to bring her disjointed thoughts back into some semblance of order. She took out the booklet and pen she had taken from Kamika's room and began to scribble down whatever came to her mind, as good as the originally right-handed mage could with her left hand... which wasn't much.

After a while she stared down at the paper and the barely legible scribbling on it. July 7th, Project Eclipse, Dragon King Festival.

"Oi! This place is strictly off limits!"

Shocked Lucy jerked up her eyes to see a police officer coming toward her. Quickly she got up and dashed down the street to get away. "Wait!" he called after her, but she couldn't afford the risk of being arrested. After she rounded a few corners and was sure that she wasn't followed, the Celestial Spirit Mage noticed that in her dash she had dropped the little notebook.

And so she continued her aimless wandering through the city once again.

_How can I stop it from happening? I just don't know what to do. How can I, by myself and without even my spirits avert this coming apocalypse?_

_I just can't. I'll have to put my hopes in Jellal. But maybe I can at least save my past self from my anguish. If we hadn't gotten too close to the Eclipse Gate, we wouldn't have been arrested. Maybe... maybe I can convince them to flee. If they aren't here when the Dragons come..._

Finally having a goal in her mind again Lucy spent the rest of her day sneaking into the castle and memorizing as much of the layout of Mercurius' many confusing corridors as she could. She didn't feel good about having to steal food from the castle, but the tables were always so plentiful that no one even noticed a few things missing.

Since it would have been far too dangerous to wander the castle at night, and utter foolishness to attempt to sleep in it, she left it before sundown. After finding a secluded corner out in the city she tried to get some rest. Despite her exhaustion, sleep was a long time in coming. And when it finally did, it brought only terrible nightmares from which she would wake in a cold sweat. Those dreams were so painful that she became too afraid to try and sleep. She set up the entire night, fighting against the urge to sleep.

The next two days she repeated this pattern. Scouting the castle at day, spending the night in some hideout in the city. She even managed to find a secret underground passageway into the castle through which she could bypass the most dangerous part of the journey - sneaking past the numerous and well organized outer guards. Only having to worry about the few patrols inside the castle made things a lot less dangerous.

At night she spent most of her time fighting desperately not to fall asleep. Being only Human it was clear that she couldn't keep her eyes open for three days straight and sooner or later she would fall into a fitful sleep only to once again be woken by terrible nightmares. Images of Natsu being torn apart by the white monsters. Images of legions of Dragons tearing the town to pieces and burning it's citizens into piles of ash. Natsu, with the big hole in his side bleeding strongly, trying to touch her one last time, but being just out of reach. Her friends faces floating in a black void, burning and slowly melting before her eyes.

But those nightmares weren't even the worst dreams she had. Once she dreamed of Natsu, without so much as a single scratch on him, coming toward her with a warm smile and lovingly embracing her. No nightmare could ever cut as deep as waking from that beautiful dream just to discover herself in a dirty backstreet and remember that her love died to save her miserable, little life. Those were the moments when she could barely resist her urge to just end it all by her own hand. Just one thought managed to keep her from committing suicide. _I promised to survive!_

* * *

Then the fateful day came. The seventh July. The day it all ended in her time. One last time she snuck into the castle and moved to the great gate that was the exit of the so called Capital of Death. Pitfall Palace.

She didn't know at which time of the day her past self and her companions would come through here, but they would come for sure.

And so she waited to meet herself.

* * *

**Afterwords:** Not much to say about this chapter itself, since it all seems pretty self-explanatory. But there's one thing I noticed when looking at all the instances of the Eclipse Gate again. The first "courtyard" turned out to be no courtyard at all. It was underground. And when we see it later, it's on a... pedestal I guess you could call it.

So maybe it was build underground and then, before it's activation, somehow lifted into the courtyard. Perhaps even build on a mechanism that allowed it to be raised or lowered back underground, to help keep it save and secret. Or Hiro Mashima just noticed that keeping it underground would leave too little room for the Dragons to get through, so he changed it and hoped nobody would notice ^^

I'm currently debating with myself whether I should incorporate this little theory into the story and revert Lucy's hiding place in Chapter 5 back to the way I had I had originally planned, until I noticed the discrepancy.

Please let me know how you think about the matter and how you liked my take on Future Lucy's story so far :-)


	7. Chapter 7 - Face to Face with her Past

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail and all associated characters, creatures, magics and locations are owned by Hiro Mashima. Some of the things the characters say in this story are the direct translations of the Manga made by Mangastream. This applies only to the words spoken out loud. Lucy's thoughts are all entirely made up by myself.

* * *

**Chapter 7 - Face to Face with her Past**

They were almost here. She could hear the sounds of battle on the other side of the door, as they fought the Garou Knights who had taken it upon themselves to kill the mages without any orders from the princess. She wasn't worried that they might lose the fight or get hurt. She remembered that they didn't.

Any moment now she would come face to face with her past self and with... him.

The thought of seeing Natsu again made her nauseous.

Just from seeing his image on the lacrima vision screen in the stadium she had almost broken down in tears, screaming her lungs out. Her only way to avoid the outburst had been to get out of there as long as the last bits of her self-control remained intact. How could she face him in the flesh?

_I have to do it somehow. I have no other choice! I can't let them go through all this suffering like I have._

On top of her emotional strain, Lucy had barely gotten any sleep in the last three days. Her head was hurting, her vision was swimming and she felt as if she was about to faint.

_No! Not now. I am so close... I have to hold on long enough to deliver the warning. I can't just wait here! I have to talk to them before I pass out!_

Feeling as if her time was running out, she stumbled over to the portal, preparing herself to push the heavy looking thing open, but before she could make contact with the ancient looking wood, the door wings began to swing open on their own. There must have been some magical trigger set into the floor.

Through the slowly widening gap she could hear someone shout "Fire Dragons..." only to break off mid-scream, followed by a shout. Lucy couldn't make sense of it, until she saw Natsu tumbling toward her, head over heels, before he crashed face-first into the ground right before her.

There he was. Her love, her hero, who sacrificed himself for her, her everything. And yet he wasn't. This was not _her_ Natsu. This wasn't the Natsu who confessed his love for her in his last moments. The Natsu she kissed until his last breath seeped into her. That Natsu was gone...

Lucy fought to keep the tears from falling.

After staring up at her in confusion for a moment, the boy before her scrunched up his face, trying to peer into the shadow of the hood that was hiding her face. "Wah- Who are you?"

Hearing his voice was just too much.

"Who the hell are you?" he repeated a bit more forceful.

Lucy lost her battle against the her emotions and the tears started to fall in earnest. "I'm sorry..." she stammered as she started to sob and shake all over before bringing up her left hand before her eyes. "... lend me... your strength..."

She hears some confused exclamations: "That voice..." "Eh?" "You're..."

She pulled her hood back to reveal her tear stained face.

"L-LUCY" several of the group before her cried out in unison. Followed by more confused remarks. Mirajane: "There's... anther Lucy" Wendy: "Wh... What's the meaning of this?" Yukino: "Gemini? No that's not it..." Happy: "Maybe the one from Edolas...?"

Casting her eyes down and to the side, so she wouldn't have to look at the people before her... not risk any more painful memories flooding her mind, she began to explain. "You should have learned about the Eclipse Gate granting access through time..."

"Eclipse... it can't be...!" 'Lily shouted. "You used the Eclipse Gate and..." Carla asked, leaving the rest of the sentence and Lucy finished with "... came from the future."

"WHAT-!" everyone shouted out again. Everyone except her past self, who seemed too shocked to form any words.

She heard Loke say "Impossible" when her vision started to fade.

She felt herself falling and just managed to get out "Soon this country... will... be..." before no longer feeling anything. She knew that she must have hit the floor, but she just couldn't feel it. The last thing on her mind before fading completely into unconsciousness were bitter thoughts of failure.

_I couldn't deliver the message. They will run into the trap and history will repeat itself. It's all over. I hope I'll never wake up again. Better to die now than having to go through it again. Wait for me Natsu... I'll be with you soon my love._

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**Afterwords:** Well... this turned out to be a rather short chapter, but considering that today also had chapter 6 released I hope it's not a my heartfelt thanks to the four people who gave me feedback so far.

Please review.


	8. Chapter 8 - A Glimmer of Light

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail and all associated characters, creatures, magics and locations are owned by Hiro Mashima. Some of the things the characters say in this story are the direct translations of the Manga made by Mangastream.

Having the legal mumbo jumbo out of the way: As I remarked earlier I try to stay as true to the manga as I possibly can in my story. That's why so far I've typed down the translation made by Mangastream word by word, where applicable. But now I'll have to deviate from that for a bit. While the vast majority of their translations are great, a few lines in the chapters dealing with the following scenes just sounded so terribly awkward that I just couldn't bear with it (though Mangapandas translation is even worse -_-), so I'm going to use my own interpretation of the characters' speech in several places for the time being. Examples for this awkwardness are Lucy referring to Natsu & Co in third person when asking if they believed her even though she's speaking directly with them, or stating the date as X793, when it really was X791.

* * *

**Chapter 8 - A Glimmer of Light**

She could hear others talking as if from a great distance.

"Even if there are two of you, my love shall encompass you both!"  
"You're not good at reading the situation, are you..."

Moaning softly Lucy started to rise.

"You alright, future Lucy?" she heard someone ask. She still wasn't fully aware yet, but it sounded like Happy.

_Future Lucy, eh? Is that what they are going to call me? For me she is the my past self, but for them I am her future self. This is so confusing..._

"Where... am I..."

"Hard to say really... From the looks of things, I'd say this is one of the castle's dining halls..." someone answered.

"So... we're still inside the castle?" she began to ask.

_Inside the castle? What kind of stupid question is that. Of course we would be inside the castle, after all we got recaptured... Wait? Dining hall! They didn't catch us yet! There is still time!  
I can still stop them from running into the same trap, my mind's still foggy, but I have to remember the details...Think Lucy, think!_

"From what I can remember... after we escaped from the dungeon... we were recaptured by the royal army. I thought I should let you know..."

"That must be what happened in future Lucy's timeline..." 'Lily pointed out unnecessarily.

Natsu was incredulous: "What are you going on about? There's no way they could ever even lay a finger on us!"

"I hate to admit it but I agree..." Mirajane stated.

"As we escaped, we somehow got too close to the Eclipse Gate... and had our magic drained, which rendered us powerless."

The explanation seemed to satisfy Natsu and Mirajane.

"It was simply... an unfortunate coincidence..." _What should I say? 'And then all of you, except... died in their cell?' How could I? No, I'll try to skip it over. _"until that time came... we were all imprisoned..." _Oh, please don't ask for the details..._

But Happy did: "That time?"

_Oh no! Please don't make me remember it again. Everything but that._

Lucy began to sweat and shake, as she desperately tried to find a way to answer the question, without bringing up all the pain and suffering.

"If you don't mind me asking... why did you come here from the future Lucy-san?"

_Thank you Wendy! You are my salvation. But how should I put this? _"To undo a future that had become so... bleak..."

"So... bleak?" "Just what happened in your future?" Natsu and Yukino asked.

_The entire city died. All of you died, except... him. And then even he was taken from me. I too died in every way that counts, except the beating of my heart..._

"... we were all imprisoned when it happened, but when... when I got out of the castle... circling in the sky above us were Dragons... thousands of them... there were just too many to count, but if I had to guess I'd estimate their numbers at more than... ten thousand..." she stammered, sure that they'd never believe her.

"Are... you... freakin'..." Natsu began quietly before slamming his hands to his head and shouting "SERIOUS!" at the top of his lungs, causing Happy to jump in fright and 'Lily to complain about the volume with a curt "My eardrums..."

Happy joined in with Natsu screaming "We're doomed!", while Mirajane wondered "More than 10000 Dragons..." and Yukino remarked "Of all the things that could have happened..."

_They don't believe me... but how could they. I saw them with my own eyes and even I can hardly believe it._

Wendy began to muse out loud "I wonder if this is somehow connected to the Dragon graveyard we discovered earlier..."

"It's possible..." Carla replied while she pondered the question and 'Lily remarked how "this is quite the pickle..."

_Wait... could they really be... that they actually... believe me?_

Suddenly Lucy noticed Natsu running around with a helmet and a bundle of very big arrows, shouting "We can't just sit around with our thumbs up our ass! Grab what you can!" _Where the hell did he get those things from?_

For the first time since they met, Lucy heard her past self talk. "You want to take them head on!?". "We'd be marching to our deaths..." Happy agreed in a panic.

_They really do... believe me! _Unable to accept this fact so easily Lucy couldn't help but give voice to her doubts. "You... you really believe me?"

"Did you make it all up?" Natsu asked.

"Of course not! It's just so... unbelievable I guess. I wondered if you could really accept it on just my word alone."

"We would never doubt the words coming out of Lucy's mouth..." Natsu replied, almost looking a little hurt about Lucy implying that she didn't have their unconditional trust. She could only stare for some time.

_He might not be my Natsu, but he's just the same. I envy my past self._ When she felt a blush creeping up on her cheeks she had to avert her eyes. _If only I could find the words to tell her not to repeat my mistake... to appreciate him while she still has the chance..._

"My future self shouldn't be filled with so much doubt... Have more faith in your nakama..." her past self admonished Lucy in a soft voice.

"I'm being lectured by... me... You make a great point though..." _Being jealous of my past self, getting encouraged and lectured by her past self... This all feels so weird._

Carla suddenly got a strange expression, almost as if she was frightened... _Could she be having one of those visions?_ "When the Dragons showed up... what happened to those of us in the castle?"

Lucy just couldn't bring herself to tell them of their death', but they seemed to know the meaning behind her silence, the way she avoided eye contact and her pained expression.

Of course Natsu being Natsu just couldn't keep quiet. "Oh man! We all bit the dust!" "Are we going to die?" Happy asked, shaking in fear.

"I don't know how much time passed... but when I came to..." _No I can't... I can't talk about the flight... the fight... his dea... NO!_ She shook her head to dispel those dark memories that once again threatened to rise up and drown her in despair. No she just couldn't think about THAT. But it didn't matter anyway exactly how each of them died, so she skipped directly to the gate. "I recalled the Eclipse. I didn't know the first thing about activating it but... before I knew it, I had opened the gate... I hoped I could somehow travel back in time. And somehow I made it back to the fourth July X791.

"The fourth? Wasn't that just a few days ago?" "Why didn't you try to travel back to an earlier time?" Loke and Mirajane asked.

"I don't really know how it all works... and it seemed as if it was almost out of energy... or maybe it was damaged in the attack..." _All this talk is getting us nowhere. I need to get them moving or they'll really be captured here._

"Lacrima have been placed throughout the city to record the Grand Magic Tournament... I'd like you to use the hidden underground passage and meet up with Jellal and the others."

"Je...llal?" Natsu asked, caught off guard.

"He somehow found me in the city. I told him everything" _I still don't know how he did it, but he somehow made me tell him really__ everything. Even the parts I couldn't bring myself to tell you... I'm sorry, but it's just too painful_ "in the hopes that he'd be able to come up with a solution..."

"A solution?" her past self wondered out loud.

"Forgive me... Rushing here from the future... I don't have a plan of action... I don't have the faintest idea on how to prevent what's about to happen... I'm so sorry... but... I don't know what else to do here... I've kind of just been walking around in a daze..."

"Leave it to us..." Lucy couldn't help but stare up at Natsu in wonder. As she did so, he suddenly leaned down to her and laid his forehead against hers, softly saying "For the sake of everyone's future, we won't let it happen."

Tear stung her eyes. But for the fist time since... an eternity they were not tears of desperation, fear or pain... but tears of joy and relieve. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime she didn't feel lonely.

* * *

**Afterwords:** Exposition and talk followed by yet more exposition. Not the most exciting chapter I know, but still necessary for the story I'm afraid. Oh well... at least Lucy finally got a positive experience for a change and a bit of hope.

I have no idea why F-Lucy mentioned the vision lacrima in the manga, but since it was there, I felt like I couldn't just leave the sentence out. Oh and the ones that spoke the first two sentences were Loke and Carla.


	9. Chapter 9 - Descent into Darkness

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail and all associated characters, creatures, magics and locations are owned by Hiro Mashima. Translations of the characters' speeches are partially based off of the Mangastream scantilation of the Fairy Tail Manga.

* * *

**Chapter 9 - Descent into Darkness**

After all this time of loneliness, sadness, fear, hopelessness and desperation, after this hell of a living death Lucy had to endured ever since the Dragons tore her live apart, she felt alive again. Not just existing, but truly living. She had friends at her side and hope and determination in her heart. Once again she had something other than the release of death to look forward to. Finally she had regained something worth fighting for. "Follow me!"

As she manoeuvred them through the confusing corridors they all seemed surprised about her apparently knowing the way. Of course it was Natsu who put the question that everyone was wondering about into words: "How do you know your way around here?!"

"I studied the layout for the last three days to avoid capture by the royal guard."

"Makes sense" 'Lily approved, followed by Happy expressing his amazement for Lucy being able to memorize the entire place.

"We need to find the exit and notify the others..." Mirajane remarked, to which Wendy added "They must be wondering what's taking us so long..."

"The fugitives!" "Don't let them escape!" A whole squad of guards came charging toward them.

"The... royal guards?!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise. "No way..." her past self added.

"They shouldn't be on patrol down here..." _How could that be? In the last three days I didn't see a single soldier so much as take a peek into these deep passages. Why were they here, now of all times? Did the Garou Knights have some kind of emergency beacon that alerted the guards about their defeat?_

"Relax. As long as we have our magic, it'll be a piece o' cake..." Natsu seemed delighted to finally have someone to fight. "You got that right..." Loke agreed with the hot head, his hands beginning to glow.

"Ummm... Arcadios-san is no longer with us! Neither is Yukino!" Wendy pointed out to everyone's surprise.

"Why'd they run off on their own?!" Lucy's past self remarked incredulous.

Suddenly Mirajane turned around and shouting "The knight means nothing to me... but Yukino..." over her shoulder before charging off the way they had come.

Everybody seemed to be shouting over each other "Mira-san!" "You're leaving too?!" but Mirajane's mind was set. "Everyone... be careful. I'll leave them to you!" and she was gone from sight.

"Don't worry... we've got things covered here." Natsu shouted after her with Loke agreeing.

While the girls and Exceeds remained rooted on the spot for a moment longer, worrying what could be going on in Yukino's and Mirajane's heads, Natsu immediately charged the soldiers, yelling "Let's clear a path!" with Loke following closely after him.

The fight was completely one sided. No matter what the soldiers tried, they couldn't land any hits on the mages. As they saw their comrades being knocked out one after the other in this hopeless battle, the back rows started to grumble. "They're just kids... but we are simply fodder for them!" and similar remarks could be heard.

"They shall not pass! Call the anti-mage division!" an officer shouted.

Lucy couldn't help but giggle when she saw that Natsu had picking up one of the soldiers by his leg and then threw him at the officer, knocking the man and several others over, while screaming "Right back at'cha!" on the top of his lungs. The Dragon Slayer was certainly enjoying himself, despite the dire situation.

The momentum he put into the throw made him face away from the enemy for a moment and suddenly his back was hit by a blast of flame, startling him.

"Natsu" Happy cried out in concern with Carla remarking that this must be those anti-mage forces the officer called in.

_As if flames would ever work against Natsu the Salamander... you should know better than to worry about that Happy._

"Whew... That caught me off guard... If that's the best your so called anti-mage division can do, then you guys are in for a world of pain..." Natsu taunted them while looking back over his shoulder, without even bothering to turn around.

Even with the support of their mages, the Fiore forces still didn't stand a chance against the two Dragon Slayers and the leader of the Zodiacs, but still the enemy poured forth in seemingly endless numbers.

"They just keep coming and coming!" Lucy heard her past self complain and she couldn't help herself but sarcastically remarking how it was safe to say that this was not the correct path to take after all.

Carla, never one to be outdone by someone else when it came to sarcastic comments added "What happened to 'It's okay, we have our magic'..."

In an adorable display of chivalry Happy, holding a stick for a weapon, put himself up before Carla telling her to stay behind him, because it wasn't safe. Of course Pantherlily, with his total lack of awareness for anything even remotely romantic had to ruin the moment by berating Happy to follow his own advice, while putting his bulky body in front of his two fellow Exceeds.

But it turned out the be just the right decision when a bottle came flying towards the three a moment later. Instinctively 'Lily hit it with his sword and the acid contained within sprayed away from the three Exceeds.

"NEPAAAAAAAAAAAA PAAAAAN!" the big man who had thrown the projectile shouted in delight.

"The Garou Knights won't go down that easily... The most formidable one isn't even here." "Indeed Kamika." two women said as they came up behind the acid thrower.

"Tai, Taiii!" another one of the freaks appeared. This one sitting cross-legged on a sedan carried by regular soldiers who seemed very unhappy about this demeaning work, but too afraid of the executioners to give voice to their feelings.

And finally their leader came forward. "I do not begrudge your motives and reasons... so please do not begrudge ours... We will not allow fugitives to set foot outside of these castle walls..."

_Damn... this isn't good. Everyone's already exhausted from fighting those endless numbers of soldiers and the anti-mage division. And now we have to deal with the Garou Knight on top of them? To make matters even worse Mirajane and Yukino are gone. And with just one arm and without my keys and whip I can't even fight... keys... as if I had any magic power left in the state I'm in... I can barely keep to my feet anymore.  
Why? Why must fate always be so cruel?_

"Jeez... you're pig-headed... Pain in the ass!" Natsu, while winded, wasn't the least bit intimidated by the increasingly hopeless situation.

* * *

Before it was a simple battle of attrition. Would they run out of stamina? Or would the royal army run out of soldiers able to fight them? Sure they needed to escape the palace, but at least their enemies would have captured them alive and there still had been the chance that the King might release them later.

But with the arrival of the Garou Knights the fight had turned into a battle of life and death. A desperate struggle for survival with the odds stacked against them and their chances of getting out of it growing slimmer by the minute.

To Lucy's surprise her friends were able to hold out, but it was obvious that they wouldn't be able to do so much longer. "What's this?!" she heard Wendy cry out in alarm. "Those are my plants! Aren't they cute?!" came the mocking reply from Cosmos, the Garou Knights female plant mage.

As she turned around Lucy could see the little Sky Dragon Slayer ensnared in thick vines. On her other side she could hear 'Lily shout out in frustration as he lost his grip on his battle-mode shift and turned back into his little kitten shape. The almost depleted moral of the royal soldiers soared once again at seeing their enemies cornered and they too pushed forward with renewed vigour.

All around Lucy, her friends were being pushed back, overpowered and overwhelmed by the enemy.

_This is the end. We can't win._

"Yield while you can, criminals!" the leader of the Garou Knights shouted at them to Lucy's surprise.

_Why would he say that? The Garou Knights don't demand or allow surrender. They are executioners, it isn't their job to take prisoners, but... could someone really have sent them out with orders to capture? The fight is lost, but maybe we can still save our lives. Even if we are in prison, maybe Jellal will be able to-_

"I'M SO PISSED OFF! AN EXECUTION?! I'LL EXECUTE ALL OF YOU!"

_Natsu of course... That boy just can't keep his head once his blood starts boiling! That idiot is going to get us all killed! I have to do something!_

Just as Lucy was about to open her mouth to plead for mercy for her friends, the soldiers furthest away from them began to cry out in fright.

A shadow darker than the mere absence of light came crawling down the corridor in their direction. Every soldier and mage it touched began to sink down into it, disappearing from sight. Some vanished just shocked into complete stillness while others cried out in horror. But no matter their reaction, the result was always the same. After a few moments the shadow had swallowed all their enemies and began to recede back the way it came from. A few shields, weapons and helms lying still around the shocked Fairy Tail mages were the only signs that their struggle for freedom and survival had been more than their imagination.

But the shadow didn't just vanish. As the stunned friends muttered or shouted their disbelieve of what they had just witnessed, the shadow started to gather in a single place a few paces away from them.

Before their gazes it coagulated into a humanoid shape and then slowly vanished, leaving a grinning man standing in front of them. The hair on the right side of his head was short, black and brushed in front of his eye, hiding it from sight completely. The other side had long white hair and tattoos running from his temple down to his cheek, framing an eye that rooted Lucy in place and sent shivers down her spine when it looked directly at her.

Natsu was the first to recover his composure. "Who the hell are you?"

The stranger let his eye roam over all of them until it settled on Natsu. After a few more seconds of unnerving silence he began to speak in a slow and quiet voice, almost like chanting a prayer.

"The shadows are fanning out... To the past? Or perhaps... to the future? Or maybe... to the hearts of all the people?" after another short pause he continued to speak and his voice became louder and more animated until it took on an almost mocking tone. "Now this sure does bring back some fond memories... Natsu Dragneel."

"I came from the future. I am Rogue."

* * *

**Afterwords:** And thus the transitional chapters finally find their end. Will it find a good end, or will it end in more tears and sadness?

Please let me know how you liked it.


	10. Chapter 10 - Protect the Future

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail and all associated characters, creatures, magics and locations are owned by Hiro Mashima. Translations of the characters' speeches are partially based off of the Mangastream scantilation of the Fairy Tail Manga.

* * *

**Chapter 10 - Protect... the Future**

"Rogue?" "The one from Sabertooth?" Natsu and Wendy blurted out in surprise. "He's from the future too?" Lucy's past self wondered.

Lucy's guard immediately went up when she heard that. _From the future? Impossible! Nobody could have survived that. NOBODY! He MUST be lying! But he looked so different from the boy that I saw in the arena just three days ago. Could it really be?_

"Someone... other than me?" she whispered, feeling glad she had put up her hood earlier. This person made her skin crawl and deep in the pit of her stomach she felt as if no matter what, she had to keep her identity hidden from him.

"You decimated the soldiers... to save us?" Loke asked unsure, but didn't even get a glance in return. Natsu pointed out how different this Rogue was from before, but didn't get any reaction either. Only when Carla asked the question that was burning in all of their minds "Why have you come back?" did he finally react.

His gaze slowly turned toward her past self and narrowed.

"To open the Gate." The tone of voice in which Rogue had declared that and the way his narrowed eye stared at her past self, froze Lucy in place unable to move. She felt a sense of suffocating foreboding pressing down on her so hard that she had trouble getting enough air.

"The Eclipse?!" Lucy's younger counterpart exclaimed surprised.

Lucy wondered. _If he really came from the future as he claimed, what could he possibly gain from opening the Gate again? Did he intend to go back further and only ended up here... now... by mistake?_

Seeing their confused expressions Rogue began to explain. "There are two ways of using the Eclipse. One is to travel through time. The other, is as a weapon; the Eclipse Cannon. It's the only means we have of defeating the ten thousand dragons.

_Defeating ten thousand dragons? _Lucy was shocked. She came into the past for exactly that and now this creepy guy just pops up right in front of them, offering to do exactly that? It sounded too good to be true, but if he was right..._ No. That look on his face when he stared at my past self... he's planning something... something sinister. I'm sure of it._

"Guess that makes this simple then, so we're actually allies!" "Yay! We can beat the dragons!" "We can save the future!" Natsu, Happy and Wendy cried out with glee. _I can't believe it. How naïve can those three really be. This creep is obviously planning something and they'll just happily charge right into his trap!_

"Unfortunately... it's not that simple." the two-faced man went on. "I come from a future seven years from now. In seven years... dragons will have already conquered the world. Not even a tenth of the Human population survived... and of course the Eclipse doesn't hold anywhere near as much power as it does now. If we don't stop the dragons here... this world is doomed."

_This matches up with what I experienced. Could he really be telling the truth? Am I only suspecting him because he frightens me so much? But why does he mention the Dragons in practically every sentence?_

Natsu being his carefree self just couldn't help it and just had to butt in "Alright, so we'll just bust open the Gate! No worries-".

With a grim expression Rogue fell into his words. "But seven years ago, in other words, now... someone stopped us from opening the Gate. Because of that, the Gate was not opened and we couldn't fire the Eclipse Cannon at the horde of ten thousand dragons." _Again. Why mention the Dragons over and over again when we all know the score already? No, this goes beyond a scary appearance. Something really isn't right about him. He's just using the Dragons as an excuse to distract us from something else. I'm sure of it! _Lucy thought to herself while tensing up even more.

"That is why I am here. To eliminate that person." _Eliminate! Why would he need to outright kill that person. If he really is doing the right thing, why would anyone oppose him? Couldn't he just try talking to them, or if that failed just keep them away from the gate? He's not making sense and he's hiding something._

Carla put Lucy's thoughts into words "Eliminate? But if we reasoned with them, it should be fine, right?" 'Lily agreed that there was no need to kill people.

With downcast eyes the time traveller continued "At such an important 'intersection of time', words alone can't control it. Even if they're convinced now... It's already decided that they would close the Gate."

Lucy's past self tried to get him to elaborate on this by asking "It's decided?" but he didn't even seem to notice.

"An inescapable destiny, in which the ones meant to survive live on and the doomed ones perish. As long as they're alive, the ones destined to close the Gate will do so without fail..."

Natsu's patience was beginning to wear thin "You're losing me... Who's this dude you're talking about anyway?"

Lucy could see Rogue's eye widen in anger and snap at her past self, before once again narrowing in hatred. _So much hate! How can a single person hold as much hate as I see in his eye? _Before he even opened his mouth Lucy already knew who he was talking about and began to move forward.

"IT'S YOU LUCY HEARFILIA!" his voice boomed. Without giving the others even the chance to react, the sinister mage pulled the shadows around him into the shape of a sword and launched it at the stunned Celestial Spirit Mage.

Lucy's perception of time slowed down and her vision widened as the adrenaline rushed through her system. She saw her past self stiffen, letting out a surprised "Eh?" and Natsu starting to turn back crying his comrades name, but even if he already realized the danger, he couldn't possibly react in time, just like all the others.

All the others except Lucy that is. She was already on the move and threw herself in front of her past self, intent on taking the blow for her.

Time slowed down even more. As she jumped she felt as if she was floating in mid-air. Leaving behind a trail of dark clouds, the jet-black shadow blade flew at her at a snail's pace. When it made contact it felt as if the piercing pain took hours as it worked itself from the centre of her chest through her innards until its tip finally erupted out her back.

Lucy instinctively tried to cry out at the terrible pain that lanced through her, but instead of a cry, only a wet gurgling left her lips, followed by blood.

Ever so slowly she fell down to the ground. She could see her assailant's eye narrow even more in hate that she dared to come between him and his target only to widen in surprise when her hood fell back and he saw her face.

Her friends and her past self could only stare in pure horror.

When she finally hit the ground time snapped back to its normal pace. There was only the pain. Her past self had rushed to her and was holding the bleeding girl tenderly in her arms. She saw her mouth working, but just couldn't make out the words. She was lost in a world of her own, where only the pain was real.

_I'm sorry my love. Looks like I won't be able to keep our promise. But I just couldn't let her die. She still has so many things worth living for, while I have only my death to look forward to._ Belatedly Lucy realized the implications of having saved her past self. If her past self had been killed, wouldn't she have disappeared too? In other words she would have died either way. Surely that wouldn't count as breaking the promise.

When the shock finally set in and reduced the piercing pain to a dull throb, Lucy was finally able to perceive her surroundings again.

She tried to speak, but only a whisper made it past her lips "I... never closed... the... Gate..." Lucy found it hard to form the words past the throbbing in her chest and the blood in her mouth, but her past self had heard her pleading.

"I know you didn't! I would never do such a thing! Why did you save me?!"

They both knew that this was a wound beyond Wendy's ability to heal. Nothing could save her life now.

The blade stuck in her chest began to slowly fade back to the shadowy clouds out of which it was conjured.

Lucy spit out a mouthful of blood before replying. "Because... you're... my past... Either way... I would have ceased to exist... To die whilst being watched by myself... it feels strange..."

"It's the same for me, so you can't die!" the young woman screamed at her future self.

_Listen to you, you silly girl. We both know it's too late for me.  
Isn't it strange? Here I am, dying and I'm completely calm, while she's screaming and panicking over what can't be changed. I wish I could take her pain into me, so that it will disappear together with my life._

"It's... okay..."

_'Without hope there can be no fear!' eh? I was a fool to think I understood before...but now I do. Natsu... I finally understand how you could smile while your life was ebbing away._

"I managed to meet up with everyone... Even though I never thought I'd have the chance to, ever again... I'm happy with... just that..."

_To die, knowing I saved her. To die surrounded by my friends... I really am happy.  
I no longer have any regrets. I can pass over in peace. I will be with you soon my love._

"Lucy... no... you can't die..." Happy stammered.

"I'm... not from this time... no, I'm not even part of the people of this world... The me from this world... lives on with... her comrades... So, don't be sad..." she told the little blue Exceed as he snuggled up to her.

"That's impossible!" Happy shouted while the tears coursed freely down his furry face. "No matter what world you're from... whoever you say you are, LUCY IS LUCY! WE'RE NAKAMA! There's no way we won't be sad!"

Unable to find the words that could take away that pain, Lucy gently hugged the little blue cat to her shoulder.

After a moment she turned back to her past self. "Hey... could you... show me your guild mark?"

Despite not understanding why she would make such a request at a time like this, the young mage still held out her right hand to her dying counterpart.

Gingerly Lucy rand her fingers over the pink Fairy Tail mark. Unbidden memories started to rise up in her mind. Natsu shattering the charm spell that almost took a hold of her. Entering the guild hall for the first time. Lucy proudly showing off her brand new guild mark to Natsu, only for him to get her name wrong. One after another the images paraded through her mind, bringing tears of joy to her eyes.

_I had such a good life. Painful at times, but there was so much good in it I wouldn't want it to be any other way._

"You... your right hand..." her past self stammered. The cloak had fallen open to expose the stump where her right arm used to be, but Lucy could no longer hear or see anything.

"I really... wanted to go on more adven... tures..."

With the last of her strength and her last breath she whispered "Protect... the future..."

Her last thoughts were of her friends and above all else her one true love.

* * *

**Afterwords:** And so the story end... or does it?

As you probably guessed from that line, I still have an Epilogue Chapter up and coming, so stay tuned for the finish tomorrow or on Sunday.

If you're wondering about the line "_'Without hope there can be no fear!' _" that's a little callback to the end of chapter 3.


	11. Epilogue - Upon Golden Plains

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail and all associated characters, creatures, magics and locations are owned by Hiro Mashima. Translations of the characters' speeches are partially based off of the Mangastream scantilation of the Fairy Tail Manga.

* * *

**Epilogue - Upon Golden Plains**

They said there would be bright, warm light and a tunnel.

They said you would meet with all the friends and family that died before you.

They were wrong.

Lucy Heartfilia could only see a black void. A blackness so pristine it made you forget what light even looked like. A place of loneliness. A place devoid of any feeling or sense.

She didn't know how long she was in this dark place, but eventually she began to feel... something.

It felt as if her body was pulled in multiple directions at once. It felt... just like when she had travelled back to the past!

With a jolt the sensation faded and Lucy could once again feel.

She felt ground beneath her back. She felt grass under her fingers. Something was warmly caressing her face.

She snapped her eyes open and immediately shut them again. It was too bright.

After a while she began to open her eyes again, slowly this time.

She was in a meadow of some kind. The warm feeling on her face were sunrays.

Lucy pushed herself up into a sitting position, mumbling "Where... am I?" Before her, golden fields extended as far as the eye could see, fading into a beautiful blue sky at the horizon.

She stood up and almost fell down again. Something was off with her balance. Was her right side somehow... heavier? Something seemed to pull at the stump of her right arm.

As she looked down on her body, she noticed for the first time that she was no longer wearing the simple cloth and cloak she had taken from Kamika's room. She was back in the cloth she had changed into when her friends freed Yukino and her from their cell. But they weren't torn half to shreds and soaked in blood like the last time she saw them. They were clean and whole.

She couldn't make sense of it, but decided that this little mystery could wait till later. Her balance was more important.

So she looked to her right side and found the additional weight.

Her arm was back! Not just the stump that ended at the elbow she had been expecting, but her complete arm down to the fingertips. And her pink Fairy Tail guild mark!

In those few days of constant wandering she had gotten so used to the uneven balance of her maimed body that she now had trouble getting used to the symmetry once again. Who'd ever think that such little weight could make so big a difference.

While she still marvelled at the miracle, wondered about her surroundings and fought to find the equilibrium of her restored body, a voice called out to her from behind.

"Hey Lucy!"

_His... voice? Could it really be..._

Something gripped her heart and made it hard to breathe as she slowly turned her head to face the source of the call.

And there he was.

Before her stood her friend, her love... her life.

Natsu!

Not like he was when she last saw him, bruised, bloodied and with a gaping hole in his side, but without so much as a single scratch or speck of dirt visible anywhere on him, as he happily smiled at her.

"Get over here already!"

Next to him Happy, with an expression that matched the Exceed's name, added "Everyone is waiting!" while jumping up and down in delight.

Behind the pair all of Fairy Tail stood and cheered her on. All except her best friend. The little blue haired bookworm was nowhere to be seen.

_So Levy didn't die. Please be save my friend and live a happy and fulfilled life before you meet us here_.

As she kept drinking in the image of her new family she froze. _Are those... mama and papa?_ In among the Fairy Tail wizards stood Layla and Jude Heartfilia.

"Now... Let's continue on our adventure!" Natsu exclaimed as he took her hand and began to guide her toward the group.

"Yeah." Tears of pure bliss started to roll down Lucy's cheeks as the two lovers ran, hand in hand, toward her two families, now standing united.

_I'm home!_

* * *

**Explanation:** In the manga, Lucy only goes to the "Golden Plains" after the Eclipse Gate is destroyed, rather than right upon her death. The "black void" is my way of skipping over the time between her death and her passing over. Maybe she was blocked off from her own timeline as long as the Eclipse Gate remained intact.

**Afterwords:** And so my first FanFiction story end with Future Lucy finally finding happiness in the afterlife after suffering so horribly ever since the Dragons invaded her timeline.

Considering the sad tone of the story, I guess it'd be wrong to say that I hoped you had fun. I certainly enjoyed writing the story and hope I was also able to entertain you with it.


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